Kit Kat Chocolatory has finally made its way into Australia with its first flagship store in Sydney! If you’ve been to Japan, then you would know these delicious chocolate-covered wafer bars come in all sorts of unique flavours apart from the boring milk and dark chocolate we see in western supermarkets. Just as Sake and Sakura Matcha flavours are native to Japan, the Australian series features some distinctively Australian combinations like Lamington. I’m enamoured by the endless offering of customised Kit Kats in store, but alas, a girl can only eat so much chocolate in one go. I went with their most basic Australian range without all the bells and whistles of customisation to test out how well these held out against the Japanese ranged of specialty KitKats. Here’s a look at them.
ONE STOP SHOP, KITKAT CHOCOLATORY
Before I start getting into the standard Australian Kit Kat range, let’s take a brief moment to appreciate how fancy this new Kit Kat flagship store is. Officially called KitKat Chocolatary (it is precisely what it sounds like), this place is like if Willy Wonka decided just to be hooked on Kit Kat chocolate and spilled out some of his fancy confectionary magic into a premium choloclaterie. Building on Kitkat Japan and Melbourne store’s successful experiences, the Sydney CBD store offers various products and customer experience services.
On-the-go visitors can mix and choose from a mind-boggling variety of prepacked chocolate bars from the walls of almost-ceiling-to-floor shelves. There are three different categories these packed Kitkats fall under:
- Special Editions Range. These KitKat Chocolates are the reimagined iconic flavours from Australia, Japan and Brazil. This section is where I got my Aussie Lamington Kitkat and the rest of the Australian inspired collection.
- Kitkat Chocolatory Sublime Range. If exploring the very premium flavours from Japan’s KitKat Chocolatory, including their popular Matcha taste, this is the section for you. I would suggest giving Yuzu and Volcanic Vanuatu a try.
- KitKat Chocolatory Creations Range. While fancy is nice, sometimes we want a taste of nostalgia. This shelf is where the most classic Kitkats like Milk, Dark, White, Marble, Ruby, Orange Almond and Dark Hazelnut lives.
For visitors who have time to explore, this KitKat flagship store is full of sweet experiences. I would recommend trying a dessert degustation with their Kitkat version of a sushi train at their Tasting Table counter. The train chocolates come in a range of delicious fillings like peanut butter and raspberry or wasabi creme. When you think Kit Kat chocolates can’t get fancier, try ordering their dessert dishes which come in ‘Pod to Plate’ (wafer, mint and lemon in a dark chocolate pod) or ‘Aussi Lamo’ (sponge, cream strawberries and toasted coconut).
If personalisation is your life motto, the KitKat ‘Create Your Break’ station is for you. Here, visitors can create their own eight-finger Kitkat by choosing anything from the type of chocolate and the ingredients they want in their Kitkat bar to the kind of custom packaging they want. There are up to 30,000 possible combinations, so I don’t recommend “trying every type of Kitkat combinations” in your chocolate bucket list (but if you do end up doing that, I would love to hear about it). The only catch to this freedom of creativity is the minimum 90 minutes wait time.
KITKAT SPECIAL AUSTRALIA EDITION
Located in the ‘Special Edition’ section of the KitKat flagship store, this series tastes matches Australia’s iconic flavours. Like Matcha, Yuzu and Sake are symbolic for Japanese, Lamington, Expresso, and Caramel Almond Cookies represent us Aussies. Unlike the endless specialty flavours found in Kitkat’s Japanese Special Edition, there are only five flavours so far for Australia. Unlike the Japanese Kitkats, where the taste is in the chocolate itself, the Australian Kitkat series holds an additional textural secret with physical particles of the ingredients stuck on the bottom of the chocolate bars. One thing I enjoyed about the KitKat Australian series is the use of a variety of chocolate bases. From white to dark, the sweetness and bitterness of the chocolate pair with the ingredients give a much better balance when compared to the Japanese series. Here is my preference order from the Aussie Kitkat series.
MOST AUSTRALIAN FLAVOUR: KITKAT AUSTRALIA EDITION REIMAGINED AUSSIE LAMINGTON
What’s more Aussie than Lamington and Pavlovas? I’m glad they chose to do a Lamington and not the latter because meringue and passionfruit are just overdone and a bit boring. As soon as I opened the packaging to take out the KitKat bar, there were coconut shavings everywhere (it’s a good thing!); it’s exactly like how it would be if you took out a slice of Lamington. Then the buttery sweet smell of vanilla sponge dressed in milk chocolate marrying the soft tones of coconut dances through the whole of my studio. On the surface, it looks just like your ordinary milk chocolate KitKat bar, but when it’s flipped over, the bottom is coated in a just-right layer of finely shaved coconut. It may be that I’m slightly biased due to my love of Lamingtons, but I cannot recommend this flavour enough.
MOST SUITABLE WITH TEA: KITKAT AUSTRALIA EDITION RASPBERRY ROSE HIBISCUS
I’m not usually a fan of white chocolate, but this has made me change my mind! Unlike the standard white chocolates found in your local confectionary store or chocolatier, the chocolate itself is not sickly sweet. The first things that greet me as I removed the bar from its wrapping are the loose bits of freeze-dried raspberries and rose petal flakes. Unlike the other Kitkat chocolate bars in the Australian series, the ingredients are also visible on the top of the bar mixed in with the white chocolate. Flip the bar over, and you will find lumps of dried flower petals and raspberries stuck on the back—the combination of reds, pinks and white made for a very pretty visual. Flavour-wise, the raspberries’ sourness waltzes well with the Rose and Hibiscus and helps to balance out the sweetness of the white chocolate. I would recommend trying this with a cup of freshly brewed green tea to enhance the fragrance in your mouth.
MOST SUITABLE FOR COFFEE LOVERS: KITKAT AUSTRALIA EDITION ESPRESSO COOKIE HAZELNUT
There are actual coffee beans at the bottom of this Kitkat bar! If you don’t have good teeth or don’t like crunching on hard things, I recommend flipping the bar over and removing those beans before consumption. The smell of Expression coffee will slap you hard just like that shot you get from your favourite barista, half-asleep in the morning. While I’m team tea, I can appreciate how smoothly coffee this bar taste. Mixed in with the slight dark chocolate and bits of cookie crumb, this is one I would recommend for those who love all things coffee. For those who are not so good with dark chocolate or coffee, I would skip and buy another Kitkat flavour instead.
MOST SUITABLE FOR AFTER MEALS: KITKAT AUSTRALIA EDITION CHOC FUDGE MINT COOKIE
A bite of mint chocolate is one of my favourite ways to end a good meal. KitKat Australian Series have included this gem in their collection. The minty smell takes over the room as soon as I cut open the packaging. When I started tipping the KitKat chocolate bar out, tiny crystals of mint green candy rocks accompanied by a fine dusting of cookie crumbs waterfalls out. Turning it around, and bits of mint candy shine through dusty chocolate cookie crumbs like a gemstone would be in a rocky mine. The amount of mintiness sits just on the line of being able to feel and taste the coolness, but not so strong that you’d think you’re munching on fresh mint leaves. I love how Kitkat created this using dark chocolate to tone down the sweetness, and it goes perfectly with the soothing mint. I would replace those dull after-meal mint chocolate disks you get at your local restaurants with these in a heartbeat.
MOST ORDINARY: KITKAT AUSTRALIA EDITION CARAMEL ALMONDS COOKIE
Yes, it is just like the title says. This flavour is very dull and stock standard. After trying out the other four flavours of KitKat’s Australian Chocolate Series, I was sorely disappointed but how lacklustre this flavour was. Like the other KitKat bars in this collection, there is caramel fudge, biscuit and toffee pieces stuck on the bottom of the chocolate bar. But honestly, this just tasted like your ordinary Kitkat with a hint of Ferrero Rocher. It’s a soundbar for those who are less adventurous and wants a bit of crunch and a bit more sweetness with their standard milk chocolate KitKat. If you are like me, who is expecting a unique twist for the premium price you’ve paid for a KitKat chocolate bar, then this is not worth your time or money.
All up, the KitKat Australian Special Edition is pretty good for a first-time trial but are not as mature in unique characteristics or depth of flavour as those Special Edition KitKat bars found in Japan. The range isn’t large enough to offer more natively Australian flavours like strawberry gums, salt bushes, finger limes and wattle seeds. If you are after a particular Aussie taste or want to get nostalgic with your Aussie tastebuds, I would recommend making your own. Hopefully, Australian KitKat stores will introduce KitKat chocolate bars with a native or indigenous Australian taste like the Australian Chocolatier KoKo Black in our near future.
